So I realize that I owe you my "blog" on Frankfurt but I have a feeling that may just have to wait for the long plane ride over to the big island for now I'm going to try to keep up with my race reports.
So 2014 was the year that Colin and I had started planning out in early 2013.. it was to be our "EPIC year of all the epic bucket list races" - I know I know you cannot fit all bucket list races into one year but you have to start somewhere so first season opener on that list was to be Oceanside. This of course didn't happen for me due to the idiot driver that left me with a broken collar bone. Something that I have truly learned to embrace is to control what you can and not to try to control what you can not - and that most everything in life is a blessing and a lesson if you let. Everyone kept saying to me you will come back from this crash stronger than before and they were right - it has taught me patience.
Next on the list was Frankfurt and I'm pretty sure it will be a long time before any race tops the EPIC factor on that one - just thinking about it puts the biggest smile on my face and makes me want to go back to race in Europe really soon.
So last but not least on that list was Timberman 70.3 - honestly purely because I have heard nothing but great things about the race and because it's Chrissie Wellington's favorite 70.3.
I had zero expectations for this race - after taking a longer than normal mid season break after Frankfurt and just getting back into the training groove it was all about having fun.
The fun factor just kept going up when I found out my good friend Molly had a house on a lake close by and Tara and her would be racing. what could be better than a fun weekend hanging out at a Great Lake house eating pancakes and then a little race to top things off? Yes you got it another 30 QT2 athletes deciding to race!!
When I say I had no expectations of this race I mean I actually don't think I have ever been less race focused it really was an after thought pretty much all up until Saturday afternoon when I was sitting lake side holding my full pancake belly saying I could never eat another thing and asking Tara - " hey so what would it take to win this thing " that question combined with bike drop off flipped that switch that set me into race mode.
Race morning was super smooth got up extra early to make sure we got there in time get parking right at transition.
We got there had our apple sauce in the car then nature called so we combined that with getting set up and then back to the car for an hour nap before swim start.
So here goes the actual race and how it all played out.
Swim:
This was a pretty big race with lots and lots of waves I think we were somewhere in the middle Tara, Molly and me - Molly is a rockstar swimmer ( she posted the fastest swim split for our AG )
So the plan was to go out hard and try to hang onto her feet. This didn't quite happen but what did happen is that for the first time ever I did find feet and held onto them the whole way - it was magical and resulted in a 70.3 swim PR. For the future my plan is to find more feet!
T1:
Thankfully went smoothly and uneventful they even had wetsuits strippers - I always love those. Still I think next year I'll have to race more shorter races to get a little more efficient.
Bike:
I loved the bike course. Couple climbs out of T1 which lead to a spike in HR a little longer than I wanted it to but I managed to reign that in pretty quickly - just as I was settling into my comfort zone a girl passes me and in doing so says "You must be Brigitte "- this caught me off guard after a couple back and fourths and quick chatter on each pass back and fourth it turns out that she too was part of QT2 and had placed second in our AG at 70.3 TX after Carly. As they say you never know who shows up on race day, it's never good when it's another QT2 athlete to go to battle with but we both decided we were totally cool with taking 1st and 2nd.
At around mile 40 - 45 as we had to start to climb back into town she dropped me like a hot potato and put some space btw her and I. I let her go this was her A race and I have a bigger race coming up and all we can ever do is race our race. I came to a slight downhill with a sharp right turn this woman almost pulls right out in front of so I slowed way down - just kept thinking "bubble wrap". The next moment changed my whole day. It all happened very quickly. I noticed someone on the ground with an officer and a paramedic - oh no it was Sarah, my new QT2 teammate. To say this sent a shock through my system would be a huge understatement. I tried to remain focused on road - but I would be lying if I said she was all I thought about the next hours - seeing her on the ground brought back all the crash memories of my own and yet another reminder to never take a single day for granted. The last 15 miles went by like a blur.
T2:
Was very uneventful and I think went pretty quick - I got a quick check on where I was from the best roadies out there and off I went
Run:
I had not run all week because of a testy left leg and so the plan was to play it by ear to see how the leg would do - if the pain was to go above a 3 I was going to pull the plug so I really eased into the run and made sure I was listening to my body and not my heart which is the part of me that lives to race. Good news was that the leg seemed to hold up just fine by mile 3-4 I had found my groove well at least I found some running pace that I was happy to settle into - not sure I would call it a groove. I've been at war with my run for most of the year it has not felt smooth or strong the same way it did last year. I know what's causing it but having an even harder time fixing it. I have always had this saying train heavy race light. Well the getting light part is just what's not happening this year. Ever since the accident I have been carrying an extra 10-12 lbs over last year that I can not get rid of. It's probably been my single greatest struggle this year .. Oh well moving on run was going well and as I was heading out as Linsey was just finishing and gave me a quick shut out - I think this is probably the single greatest thing about our sport is to see your idols racing the same day. This was the boost I needed to put my head down and get it done.
I passed one girl and thought great now let's find those other age group girls that where ahead of me. It was so much fun to see so much QT2 out on the course.
Somewhere around mile 7/8 a girl blew past me like I was standing still - I tried to see if the legs had anything to push a little harder but it just wasn’t there so I did all I could to keep her insight and not let her put to much ground btw her and I and manage to hold on for 2nd in my AG and 3rd OA.
This was hands down one of my favorite races - great venue - great medal - great prize and must of all jus the most amazing day with the best team around.
Thank you …… to my amazing support from the QT2 Team and our great sponsors Powerbar, Normatec, Fuelbelt ,Perle Izumi and Biotta !!